Shelley Fralic: Take two walks and call me in the morning

Shelley Fralic, Vancouver Sun04.02.2014

Why does the doctor never factor into the exercise equation other ways in which many people — okay, mostly women — expend energy? And no, we’re not talking about that. What is the difference, for instance, between 20 minutes of power walking and going up and down the stairs in your house 20 times a day while doing laundry, vacuuming, making beds, cleaning toilets and washing floors?

Related

When you’ve been off shift for a bit doing other things — among them lolling about as if recovering from a recent climb of Kilimanjaro when in reality the highest you’ve peaked of late is the top stair of a tour bus — you notice certain things upon your return.

Mostly what you notice is that some things never change.

Politicians still don’t understand that money doesn’t grow on taxpayer trees. The Canucks still stink. Natural disaster still leaves human tragedy in its wake. Justin Trudeau is still pretty. The “funniest video ever” on Facebook still isn’t.

Oh, and some exercise is still more worthy than others.

“The newest prescription from your doctors isn’t for pills” jumped out as one of the more interesting headlines you almost missed, which would have been too bad because how fun is it that B.C. doctors have deliciously decided to officially adopt a new prescription in the battle of our collective bulge.

Exercise.

Apparently, we’re such a bunch of recalcitrant sloths that our societal body mass index has prompted a high-profile health initiative called Exercise is Medicine, sponsored by the former B.C. Medical Association, which now calls itself Doctors of B.C.

Along with your occasional quickie office consult, and its often attendant finger-wagging, now comes a customized prescription form, on which your doctor can tick one box for Walking and/or one for Other, along with recommended Minutes a Day and Days a Week.

The prescription-for-exercise form also reminds the patient of the Benefits of Daily Activity as it relates to weight, disease, cholesterol, stress and mental health, because that’s a news flash.

The goal, say those who want to keep us alive, is to help hapless patients formalize 150 minutes of exercise a week, which is about 20 or so minutes a day and which — along with appropriate calorie consumption — is designed to defer death.

Altogether now: We are too sedentary. We eat too much fat and sugar and not enough kale and quinoa.

Gotcha, doc. It’s about the calories, in and out. Everything in moderation. Keep moving. Makes sense.

But who, exactly, decides what constitutes exercise? And why does that prescription always sound, how delicately shall we put it, sexist?

Why does the doctor never factor into the exercise equation other ways in which many people — okay, mostly women — expend energy? And no, we’re not talking about that.

What is the difference, for instance, between 20 minutes of power walking and going up and down the stairs in your house 20 times a day while doing laundry, vacuuming, making beds, cleaning toilets and washing floors?

What is the difference between strapping on the Nikes and striding about the neighbourhood in your fetching Lulus and the daily ritual of pulling on a pair of sweats and schlepping the kids to and from school, the dentist, soccer practice, ballet lessons and the daycare?

What’s the difference between lifting weights at the gym and lugging around a 20-pound kid on one hip while pushing an overflowing grocery cart with the other?

They’re all good cardiovascular workouts, no? All perspiration-inducing. Some research even shows that one burns roughly as many calories mowing the lawn for half an hour as doing aerobics for those 30 minutes, and don’t lie about which one makes for a happier household.

So why no recognition for the exercise that is life? We may not be bringing in the sheaves on the back 40, but keeping a family these days is its own modern-day physical workout. Could it be that those who don’t equate child rearing and housework with real exercise have done so little of either?

When my second child was born, 30 years ago, my doctor at the time took exception to a post-natal nap I was taking in the hospital ward a few hours after an exhausting labour. He suggested that I get up and start walking the halls to get some exercise, because I needed to get back in shape. I suggested, as sweetly as any new mother with a post-partum glow would, that he pound sand, that the next time he gave birth and faced two years without sleep while running a household with two kids along with a full-time job outside the home that his lecture on what constitutes getting in shape for a new mother might be best kept to himself. Or the mother of his own children, and good luck with that.

Today, the message from the medical establishment remains the same. Walking is official exercise, perhaps because it’s easy to quantify. Vacuuming? No so much, perhaps because it isn’t.

But until the medical establishment acknowledges that pushing toddlers in a buggy around the mall for two hours is just as get-off-your-arse healthful as pulling a wheeled bag of clubs around a golf course, don’t be surprised if we don’t take that prescription too seriously.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Share

Shelley Fralic: Take two walks and call me in the morning

Video

Sports Highlights

Best of Postmedia

“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, ‘Come and see.’ And I saw, and behold a white elephant, and he that sat upon him had a crown, which he wore atop his fiery hair, and […]

Millennials, amirite? They’re nothing but Instagram-happy, emoji-LOL-ing, mannequin-challenging navelgazers. Or so the theory goes. How can they put their pants on one leg at a time, like everyone else, when they’re sausaged into skinny jeans? Yet when it comes to […]

An Ottawa judge has thrown out a romance fraud case that has taken more than four years to go to trial, ruling that the excessive delay has robbed the accused man of his right to a fair trial. Ontario Superior Court Justice Kevin Phillips on Friday stayed the case against Kevin Bishop of Ottawa, who had […]

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.